Fayette pulling for its 'American Idol'

Saturday

Mar 29, 2014 at 10:00 PMMar 29, 2014 at 10:35 PM

FAYETTE | Even in a city of less than 5,000, lives vary widely. Some folks teach at the Fayette branch of Bevill State Community College; others heal at the Fayette Medical Center; more yet build dump truck frames at Ox Bodies. A handful help protect and display the world-class collection of folk art, bestowed largely by collector Lois Wilson, at the Fayette Art Center. A family diner dynasty serves up home cooking at Charles' Cafeteria & Grill.

By Mark Hughes CobbEntertainment Editor

FAYETTE | Even in a city of less than 5,000, lives vary widely. Some folks teach at the Fayette branch of Bevill State Community College; others heal at the Fayette Medical Center; more yet build dump truck frames at Ox Bodies. A handful help protect and display the world-class collection of folk art, bestowed largely by collector Lois Wilson, at the Fayette Art Center. A family diner dynasty serves up home cooking at Charles' Cafeteria & Grill.But a few assumptions can be made about the population of the town formerly known as Frog Level: That it's far closer to an “everybody knows everybody” place than teeming cities such as Tuscaloosa; that they love their football — a sign outside town honors the 1996 Fayette County team, 4A high school state champions; and that Fox is the only channel to tune in Wednesday and Thursday nights this season.Billboards bearing hometown hero Dexter Roberts' smiling face greet you as you enter from either end of Alabama Highway 171. Just about every block has a banner or flag hanging from a bank or diner, a government building or a gas station, proclaiming support for the “American Idol” contender, this week going into another round against seven others, including Roberts' pal C.J. Harris from up the road in Jasper, and Jessica Meuse from Slapout, Ala.Viewing parties have been held at the Fayette Civic Center, at Charles', at Bevill State and McDonald's, where patrons wear T-shirts declaring “Team Dexter.” Funds raised at the eateries help pay for family members to fly out each week — Fox provides each contestant with two VIP tickets to the shows, but all other expenses must be borne.“We always want him to know somebody is in the audience for him,” said Belinda Watts, who co-owns and runs Charles' with her family.Everywhere from the salons to the courthouses to the streets, pride in the humble country boy and his rise is evident across the city. Roberts has made it past thousands of others and into the upper echelon, all of whom are being seen and voted on by millions each week and will be going out on an “AI” tour this summer, regardless of the final outcome.“We say it all the time: It's nice to see the community come together and not want anything in return,” said O.P. Morgan, a family friend of the Roberts and owner of O.P.'s Tees, which is selling souvenir shirts to help raise travel funds.“The attitude in town has been so upbeat,” Watts said. “It gives us something to look forward to.”The Watts clan has helped host viewing parties, which usually start out with schooling on all the various ways to vote: at www.americanidol.com/vote; on the “AI XIII” app, via cellphone; on Google Search; via text; or via toll-free voting numbers.But even if every man, woman and child, all 4,619 residents (by the 2010 census), voted 250 times per week — the maximum of 50 each by the different methods — that's still only 1,154,750, and “AI” host Ryan Seacrest has been reporting more than 70 million votes cast each week. Those would be optimistic numbers even for an enthusiastic fan base: Roberts' own grandmother, Judy Hubbert, admits she doesn't work a computer. “But we do 50 on both cellphone numbers, 50 on the house number, then a friend is here, and he does it on his house number,” Hubbert said. “We get in as many as we can.”If you include the Fayette County population, it rises to 17,241 people, for a potential 4,310,250 votes. Significant numbers, yes, but it still suggests the love for Roberts can't all be rising out of this West Alabama community. Although the 22-year-old has been playing wherever he could since his teens, his biggest audience before “AI” probably numbered in the hundreds. That's several zeroes from where he is now.Not so long ago, Roberts would be sitting on a tailgate, parked off a side street with his friends, playing and singing for whoever would listen or strumming for the stylists and patrons at Becky's Salon, where his sister, Angie Plunkett, works. “He used to sit right there,” said owner Becky Box, indicating a comfy sofa near the front of the work area, right by his sister's station. “Probably since he was about 14 or 15. We loved it.“He'd sit there and play George Strait, and then he'd say, 'Y'all tell me something to play.' And we'd throw out Johnny Cash or something. If he didn't know it, he'd go back to the computer and look it up and learn it, come back up here and play it.”Plunkett was among those lucky family members who traveled to Los Angeles about three weeks ago for a whirlwind trip. The “AI” studio is smaller than it seems on TV, and the acoustics aren't as good, she said; audience members had trouble hearing the singers over the band's mix. But she said she's happy she got to fly out and support the baby of the family.“He's sweet. He's real kind-hearted and respectful,” Plunkett said.Of course, all his family and friends knew Roberts wanted to escape farm work and life-guarding and other jobs he's held and get into music.“When he was younger, he was just always playing,” Plunkett said. “His mother would have to go to bed at night wearing earplugs.“We all wanted him to go to Nashville,” she said, adding no one was surprised when Roberts told them he was getting up at 5:30 a.m. one day last summer to audition for the bus tour passing through Tuscaloosa.Even though they've had Dexter Roberts concerts up close and personal, the women at the salon love watching him on TV each week.“I thought he would sound different on TV,” Box said, “but he doesn't.”“Seeing him up there, he just looks like he belongs,” Plunkett said.The stardom took some folks, those who knew him only casually, by surprise. Belinda Watts' daughter, Victoria, went to high school with Roberts. They weren't close pals, but she remembers he and his friends were always playing and singing.“Everyone knew he played really well,” she said, and he was “always a really nice guy,” but this “AI” thing snowballed.“Every Wednesday and Thursday, my Twitter is blowing up with Dexter,” Victoria Watts said.Family friends O.P. and Debbie Morgan have out a couple of different T-shirts. The most popular one is black, emblazoned “Our Idol” on the front and “Team Dexter” on the back, but a newer pink Dexter shirt is gaining popularity, O.P. Morgan said. Morgan has coached in the parks system for more than 20 years, where Roberts used to play, and he and his wife are close with the family. It's a quiet city where folks make a lot of their own entertainment, he said, and outdoor shindigs with bonfires are common. Folks could always spot Roberts, even through a smoky haze, by his silhouette approaching the fires: He'd be the one always toting a guitar.“Everywhere he goes, he's always singing,” O.P. Morgan said. “He's just a country boy. There's nothing strategic about him.”The Morgans are among those who won't miss an episode, although O.P. said he gets riled up sometimes when the judges — Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Lopez and Keith Urban — seem to be a little stern with after-performance comments.“It's like they're picking on our little brother,” he said. “And everybody around here feels the same way.”“What you see on TV is what you get,” Debbie Morgan said. “He's just a really sweet guy.”Susan Moore Sims' son, Bradley Moore, has played and sung with Roberts for years. She'd always know when Roberts visited her house because the piano bench and its surroundings would be in disarray.“Fayette has nothing for young people to do,” said Sims, who works at the county courthouse, “so the kids just ride the strip, then stop somewhere, put the tailgate down and play, wherever people would listen.”She's one of those who is not surprised Roberts is soaring in front of a national audience, but admits that “when he made the top 10, I cried.”“I can't see Dexter doing anything else but music.”Still, it's not 100 percent accurate to say everyone in Fayette is backing the hometown guy, because there's another young man from not so far away who's also made the elite. As chance would have it, Jasper's Harris and Roberts are friends from years back; they're currently rooming together while in Los Angeles.Bill and Eleanor McCollum of Fayette are two who haven't been at all the public viewings, because, let's face it: They'd be outnumbered as Team C.J. Bill McCollum, a retired railroad special agent, is running for sheriff in Fayette County, so he realizes his “AI” position might not be a popular one. But most will forgive him because he's Harris' great uncle, brother of the singer's grandfather.“He's a great kid,” Mr. McCollum said of the Jasper hopeful, who's been winning hearts with his soulful blend of country, pop and blues. “I remember him singing in the Mount Olive Baptist Church since he was about 10 years old.”McCollum's brother, Robert, helped Harris discover music, making up songs and giving the young man his first guitar — an old beat-up instrument with only three strings — before Harris was even in double digits.The young man hasn't had it easy: When he was 6, his mother would sing to him over the phone from prison, where she was incarcerated. His father passed away not long ago, so his grandfather has been a strong influence in Harris' life.“It brings great joy to us to see him” doing so well, McCollum said. “I wish his father could be around to hear him sing.”The McCollums have heard changes in his style on the show, noting he was enjoying attention from all the music-business professionals. Harris has often said he regrets not having any formal training.“When he first auditioned for this, he said, 'I'm gonna win this thing.' I just laughed,” McCollum said. Harris seems to be handling the stress well, they said; Eleanor noted that the candid videos shown each week reassured them Harris was among friends.“You can see them at the dinners; they seem to be having a good time,” she said.“I think he'll have a great future in the music field,” McCollum said.Elsewhere in Fayette, while the McCollums might venture out to another Bevill State showing, even knowing they'll be outnumbered, the city and county continue to warm to the voices of the young men and women on the show.And while most expect nothing less than a Dexter Roberts victory, it wouldn't make folks unhappy to see all three of the Alabamians riding to the top. Previous state victors including Taylor Hicks and Ruben Studdard, along with successful first runner-up Bo Bice, prove it can be done.“The rest of the country is finding out what we already knew,” Belinda Watts said.